Peace with North Korea? Publius Pundit comments on an NYT story that the US is exploring a peace treaty with North Korea. No details as yet. The Daily Pundit wonders about a similar approach to Iran and whether the term “evil empire” is relative.

Teheran as Pyongyang Fred Kaplan in Slate argues that a deal like that offered by Clinton to Pyongyang might keep Iran from building “dozens of A-bombs”. “It’s ironic that President Bush is now endorsing a diplomatic stance toward Iran so similar to the stance that President Clinton took toward North Korea.”

Some of My Best Friends Used to be Jews Solomonia quotes a letter from an English academic who refuses to read work by Israelis. “There is of course nothing personal in this … I hope you will understand that my view is based on a widely shared moral outrage. … With best wishes, Richard Seaford”

Groundhog Day Matthew Yglesias thinks Tom Friedman is trapped by the Law of Eternal Recurrence in his analysis of Iraq. Then after quoting Nietszche, Yglesias quotes Glenn Reynolds “Heh. Indeed”. Eternal recurrence.

More Jobs Americans Will Do If you are one of the hard-core 5% unemployed, consider moving to Louisville where “UPS to Expand Main Hub, Add More Than 5,000 Jobs.” Ah, yes, the “faltering” US economy booms on.

The Di Rita-Joe Galloway Exchange Sic Semper Tyrannis links to an email debate between correspondent Joe Galloway and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Lawrence Di Rita over Donald Rumsfeld’s performance as Secretary of Defense.

US Aircraft Carrier Sunk The USN sank the hulk of Oriskany in the Gulf of Mexico, turning it into an artificial reef. She was piped into the deep by her crew. “Lloyd Quiter of North Collins, N.Y., who served four tours on the ship in Vietnam, played the attention-all-hands signal on his boatswain’s pipe, and wept.” Murdoc Online has pictures.

Interesting and Weird Tim Blair notes that harp seal and whale populations are growing and Greenpeace is perplexed. “This is interesting and weird,” said John Hocevar, a marine biologist with Greenpeace. “There has definitely been a healthy rebound in their numbers.”

Back to the Future Just One Minute, TalkLeft, and Tbogg comment on Jason Leopold’s announcement of Karl Rove’s forthcoming indictment, now rescheduled to be confirmed at an indefinite time.

Dutch Change of Heart on Ali Dutch Aliens Affairs Minister Rita Verdonk seems to have relented on stripping Ayaan Hirsi Ali of her Dutch nationality—the original decision made due to the fact that Hirsi Ali provided false data upon entry into the Netherlands. “A new decision will be made within six weeks. After that, Verdonk’s position will still remain uncertain.”

Riley @ Booker Rising explains the reasoning behind the 180: “The 2005 Dutch Supreme Court ruling stated that someone who is naturalized has still […] not acquired Dutch nationality if it turns out that incorrect personal data was provided. The Supreme Court however noted that it is possible to depart from this in case of ‘exceptional circumstances,’ without specifying which circumstances fall under this rule.”

And the Dig Goes On Breaking @ ABC News: “FBI REPORTEDLY SEARCHING FOR REMAINS OF LABOR LEADER JIMMY HOFFA, MISSING SINCE 1975, IN RURAL AREA NEAR DETROIT”

If this keeps up, no backyard in America is safe.

Update: A dead heat between blogs and ABC News in breaking this story. Kukla’s Korner (Detroit) date stamped before ABC’s alert: “Channel 4 in Detroit has a helicopter flying about 1500 ft. above a horse farm in Milford, Mi. There are about 7 officers using shovels, supposedly looking for Jimmy Hoffa’s body.”

European Smarts Kesher Talk has an example of Smart Car advertising in South Africa. “German engineering, Swiss innovation, American nothing.” In about 30 years Europe might be able to fit its entire population in to a Smart Car.

The Neutral Zone The Washington Prowler describes how Google, Moveon.org and politicians are working on their version of ‘Net Neutrality’: “You have Republicans taking money from companies and firms working to end their control of Congress, and even worse, working with outfits like MoveOn.org. And they are taking this money to not only help groups dedicated to defeating Republicans, but also for legislation that would regulate the Internet.”

Is Time Running Out of Time? Time Magazine has designated Richard Stengel, the head of its Web sites, as the new Managing Editor for the flagship magazine at Time Warner. The move comes as more and more people are looking at all the weekly news magazines and asking, “Why bother if I’m not at my dentist’s office?”

Midday Line, May 17

• Go for the win in 2006: Townhall’s Lorie Byrd and The Anchoress are of one mind on whether or not conservatives should blow up the Republicans in 2006.
• Sociologist Frank Furedi pulls back the curtain on the politics of happiness at the Telegraph.
• Moammar Qadaffi, Stealth Jew of Libya? Roger Simon’s got the link but not the answer.
• Why not ask why? GreyThumb analyzes the “Darwinian fundamentalism” at Enron, and the distruction wrought on the brain-pool of its employees.
• Firefighters and police officers will soon be able to get where they’re going quite a bit faster. Don’t forget the net.
• Orrin Judd reminds us that, “Every poll on immigration shows that if you combine amnesty-by-another-name with ‘increased enforcement’ you win politically on the issue.”
• Here come the I “Heart” Huckabee bumperstrips: Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to run for 2008 Republican nomination.
• “Hey, check out the fragitzmatrix right next to the golf ball!” Futurismic notes : “Eyes Peeled For Alien Junk On The Moon”
• If the National Guard starts enforcing the US border, Mexico will sue the US; if Mexico sues the US, Patterico will sue Mexico.
• BlogHead of the Day (So Far), to “The Anchoress” for “Just call me your little garish neon beer sign!”

Fencing with Amnesty Michelle Malkin wonders if the Senate’s newly-approved fence is worth the price of admission: “…Given past history and yesterday’s vote against enforcement-first, you already know which provision—the amnesty, not the fence—is the Senate’s top priority and which will be in place first.”

A Good Diet Glenn and the Doc interview Seth Roberts, author of The Shangri-La Diet: The No-Hunger, Eat Anything Weight Loss Plan. Isn’t everyone on this diet?

How to Up Those Poll Numbers Certain aspects of Frank J.’s plan to boost President Bush’s approval ratings may have their own downsides. It’s difficult, however, to see the drawbacks for this one: “put Congress and spending in its place by freezing the assets of everyone in Congress just like you do terrorists until Congress can decided how to get federal spending under control.”

Are van Gogh and Fortuyn turning?

Theo van Gogh

With the Dutch abandonment of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Tigerhawk comments on an article in the Wall Street Journal’s subscription version about the dozens of persons across Europe who are in hiding due to threats from Islamic extremists and, like Hirsi Ali, are fleeing to the US.

Of the Dutch—who blame Hirsi Ali rather than the terrorists for her plight—Tigerhawk says: “I’ve always liked the Dutch as individuals and Holland as a destination, but it is not a country with which to share a foxhole.”

The American Way

AP

Sissy Willis, having survived the New England floods in one piece—along with her cat—highlights New England Cable Network’s efforts to ‘Help [their] Neighbor.’ “Tocqueville and Calvin Coolidge would both be proud.”

Got a Quarter? The Mint has recognized that some of the designs for the Statehood Quarter are quite boring, so they have begun an Artist in Residence program; Ellison has some of the early results (HT: TBIFOC)

As it Was in the Beginning From The Belmont Club: “Blog authors who want solve murders, help children, tell a joke, fight the enemy — are far better off than those who hanker after certainty. … I hope that the blogosphere will become less a cockpit of argument and ideas — though it will always be that — and more a forum for action: a place to facilitate meetings between real people, develop actual applications and accomplish physical tasks.”

"Bonfire of the Blasphemous" “Overbearing.” “Bloated.” That’s the bad buzz on The Da Vinci Code according to Libertas. Can this be Tom Hanks “Dixie Chicks” moment?

2004 All Over Again R.J. Eskow @ Huffington Post thinks John Kerry should run again for the White House in 2008.

Moonshine Makeover Home brewin’ as a patriotic duty? Yes, but not to make any liquor: Edmund Jenks @ Maxine Blog explains.

Will Harper's Get Harpooned? Michelle Malkin points out that Harper’s is the first American liberal magazine to take the plunge and publish the controversial Mohammed cartoons in full.

Doesn't Need a Sharpener Google has just debuted its latest gimmick, Google Notebook: Michael Arrington @ TechCrunch reviews the product and utters “Ho-Hum.” Others range from being unimpressed -Steve Rubel- to being quite bullish about it -Infomancy-.

USAT Wrong on NSA? At The Left Coaster, Steve Soto notes that the phone companies mentioned in the USA Today story have flatly denied they supplied the NSA with their call records, and wonders what this means; on the other hand, Confederate Yankee has Sen. Orrin Hatch confirming that at least two FISA judges had been briefed on the program, which would seem to confirm that some kind of program exists. Right Wing Nuthouse tries to reconcile both developments.

Pork-casting It’s the first Porkbusters podcast, with Glenn Reynolds, N.Z. Bear and House Majority leader John Boehner.

Punished Enough? Eugene Volokh thinks that the decision by the University of Colorado to keep Ward Churchill in the faculty is a bad one.

When He's Right, He's Right Dan (aka GayPatriotWest) agrees with Bill Frist that the definition of marriage is a fundamental question for both proponents and opponents of gay families; he’s eager for a serious debate.

Married... With Children Now that the US has just normalized relations with Libya, Jeff @ Beautiful Atrocities takes a detailed look at Gaddafi and his, er, nuclear family.

Diagramming the Implosion From Ed Driscoll: “in Commentary, James Piereson argues that it was Kennedy’s assassination and its immediate aftermath, that would cause the momentous shift that would ultimately consign New Deal-style American liberalism to the ash heap.” Dr. Sanity reminisces, and Jonah Goldberg wants Piereson’s head.